June 13, 2014

India: Four more die, acute encephalitis syndrome toll in Bihar 46

With the death of four more children due to acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) within the last 24 hours including three at Kejriwal Hospital and one at SKMCH, the total number of children dying with the symptoms of AES here has reached 46, whereas reliable sources put the death toll at 62 including those who succumbed to the killer disease outside the hospitals.

According to Kejriwal Hospital management, five children were admitted to the hospital on Thursday out of whom three died within a few hours. The condition of the other two is also stated to be critical.

The situation has been very alarming at both the hospitals and there is hardly any hope of improvement as the doctors are still groping in the dark for the causes of the killer disease. The anganwadi sevikas and ASHA workers have not been able to reach out to the parents of the ailing children or have failed to convince them to go to SKMCH first for treatment. Only one death was reported from SKMCH since Thursday morning, although 10 new admissions have been made there. One child died last night.

Altogether 96 patients have been admitted to Kejriwal Hospital. Of them, 20 have died, 36 were discharged after treatment due to their quick arrival at the hospital, five left without medical advice and 15 were referred to SKMCH for better treatment. SKMCH superintendent Dr G K Thakur informed that altogether 73 children have been admitted so far out of whom 26 have died, 16 were discharged after treatment while 35 others were getting treatment.

Meanwhile, the deputy superintendent of sadar hospital, Dr B N Jha fell victim to the ongoing politics on the hospital campus for the last few years and was suspended by the state government on Thursday on the recommendation of the civil surgeon, Dr Gyanbhushan. The CM, Jitan Ram Manjhi, had visited the sadar hospital last Sunday and had detected irregularities there.

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With the death of four more children due to acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) within the last 24 hours including three at Kejriwal Hospital and one at SKMCH, the total number of children dying with the symptoms of AES here has reached 46, whereas reliable sources put the death toll at 62 including those who succumbed to the killer disease outside the hospitals.

According to Kejriwal Hospital management, five children were admitted to the hospital on Thursday out of whom three died within a few hours. The condition of the other two is also stated to be critical.

The situation has been very alarming at both the hospitals and there is hardly any hope of improvement as the doctors are still groping in the dark for the causes of the killer disease. The anganwadi sevikas and ASHA workers have not been able to reach out to the parents of the ailing children or have failed to convince them to go to SKMCH first for treatment. Only one death was reported from SKMCH since Thursday morning, although 10 new admissions have been made there. One child died last night.

Altogether 96 patients have been admitted to Kejriwal Hospital. Of them, 20 have died, 36 were discharged after treatment due to their quick arrival at the hospital, five left without medical advice and 15 were referred to SKMCH for better treatment. SKMCH superintendent Dr G K Thakur informed that altogether 73 children have been admitted so far out of whom 26 have died, 16 were discharged after treatment while 35 others were getting treatment.

Meanwhile, the deputy superintendent of sadar hospital, Dr B N Jha fell victim to the ongoing politics on the hospital campus for the last few years and was suspended by the state government on Thursday on the recommendation of the civil surgeon, Dr Gyanbhushan. The CM, Jitan Ram Manjhi, had visited the sadar hospital last Sunday and had detected irregularities there.